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Celebrating the Class of 2025

The college’s commencement honored graduates in a ceremony held in downtown Allentown’s PPL Center.

By: Meghan Kita  Sunday, May 18, 2025 06:19 PM

Students from the Class of 2025 arrive at commencement. Photos by Kristi Morris/Littlewing Photography

On Sunday, May 18, 457 members of Muhlenberg’s Class of 2025, along with their families, their friends, and Muhlenberg faculty and staff, gathered in Allentown’s PPL Center to celebrate the college’s 2025 commencement. It was the first spring commencement to include graduate students, with 18 of them celebrating the completion of their master’s degrees.

President Kathleen Harring, Ph.D., presided over the ceremony. Honorary degree recipient Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D., an award-winning psychologist widely known for her expertise on race relations and as a thought leader in higher education, delivered the commencement address. In addition to Tatum, Jacy Good ’08, a nationally known and awarded advocate and public speaker for cell-free roads, received an honorary degree.

Members of the Class of 2025 show their caps before the commencement ceremony.

Tatum’s speech offered advice from a sixth-century monk, Saint Benedict, who wrote a set of instructions for other monks. One translation of those instructions included the advice, “Life will always provide matters for concern. Yet each day brings reasons for joy.” Tatum reflected on the uncertainty of the current times and the challenges the world faces.

“For sure, there is plenty to worry about,” she said. “But truly each day does bring with it reasons for joy. Finding reasons for daily joy is one of the best ways to preserve your own mental health and carry the weight of the world lightly on your shoulders. For me, finding reasons for joy has become a daily practice.”

Tatum delivers the commencement address.

Tatum, who’s also president emerita of Spelman College and author of the New York Times bestseller “‘Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?’: And Other Conversations About Race,” shared that she has found joy in three broad categories: connecting with other people, solving challenging problems, and cultivating a sense of purpose.

“Being here with all of you, on the cusp of the next chapter of your lives, with all the energy and promise you bring — today, that is my reason for joy,” she concluded.

Members of the Class of 2025 pose for a photo before the commencement ceremony.

The two graduates who addressed their classmates were Teigan Brown, a neuroscience major, and Christine Compton, a business administration major in the School of Continuing Studies.

“It’s nearly impossible to attend this small-but-mighty liberal arts institution and not walk away a changed person,” Brown said. She spoke about her research with Stanley Road Professor of Neuroscience Jeremy Alden Teissere, Ph.D. In it, she collected eggs from living frogs and utilized them to explore the anti-anxiety properties of skullcap, a medicinal herb.

“Even though I’ve had to say goodbye to my frogs, and leave my lab notebook behind, I’m empowered by my ultimate discovery: I am and will always be, a scientist,” said Brown, who is planning to apply to graduate school and continue conducting research. “No matter where I am or what I’m doing, I will always be imaginative and clever. I will always be a catalyst for change.”

Compton delivers remarks to the Class of 2025.

Compton, who is part of the financial clearance leadership team at Lehigh Valley Health Network/Jefferson Health, gave a special shoutout to her fellow adult learners, who had to balance classes and homework with work and family obligations. Her own journey was defined by a personal tragedy that left her a single mother of two teenagers. 

“There were days when my to-do list looked like a CVS receipt,” she said. “I was juggling work, parenting, and school, trying to hold everything together. That grief taught me that resilience isn’t about figuring it all out. It’s about moving forward anyway — even when you’re running on cold coffee, glitchy Wi-Fi, and sheer willpower.”

“My children have always been my purpose. Everything I’ve done has been for them. They are my reason, my motivation, my anchor,” she continued. “I wanted to show them — and myself — that it’s never too late to grow, to lead, and to build the life we believe in. Every step forward was driven by the hope of being a role model — someone who keeps showing up, even when it’s hard.”

In her closing address, Harring spoke about the value of a liberal arts education. Liberal arts colleges were established in the wake of the American Enlightenment and reflect its ideals: reason, individual rights, critical thinking, effective communication, and civic responsibility.

“Whatever you majored in, there’s a good chance that your career won’t focus on that specific discipline,” she said. “There often is not a straight path from your major to your profession. And that is not a weakness. That’s a strength.”

Harring reflected on students’ accomplishments during their time at Muhlenberg, what they’re likely to achieve as graduates, and how their achievements will change the world. Students will apply what they’ve learned toward solving the world’s complex problems, she said, and provide leadership that supports a healthy democracy.

“Our brand of liberal arts education is an expression of American democracy’s best parts. We are, each of us, empowered to pursue our own ends, and that is good. A liberal arts education requires us to work together. Democracy requires us to work together. And that is good. When we do that in a principled and ethical way — when we lead with our minds and our hearts — we better the world.”
—President Kathleen Harring

“Our brand of liberal arts education is an expression of American democracy’s best parts. We are, each of us, empowered to pursue our own ends, and that is good,” Harring said. “A liberal arts education requires us to work together. Democracy requires us to work together. And that is good. When we do that in a principled and ethical way — when we lead with our minds and our hearts — we better the world.”

Sixteen members of the Class of 2025 were co-valedictorians: Hope Austin, a theatre major and creative writing and journalism and music double minor; Madilyn Cilley, a dance major; Jon Cohen, a mathematics and chemistry double major also receiving a secondary education teaching certificate; Lilah Cunningham, a psychology major and English minor; Amen Demisew, a biochemistry major and history minor; Ana Erickson, an English major; Nadilie Germain, an accounting and finance double major; Erin Jackson, a neuroscience major and studio art minor; Grace Leard, a psychology and sociology double major; Natalie McElhinny, a theatre and psychology double major and Africana studies minor; Jocelyn Mertz, a biochemistry major and public health minor; Emma Shay, a psychology major and Italian studies and women’s and gender studies double minor; Margaret Silbaugh, an American studies major; Elizabeth Vichness, a theatre and business administration double major; Markus Vottero, a finance major and economics minor; and Andrew White, a computer science and media and communication double major and statistics minor.

Alyssa Kaplan, a sociology major and dance minor, and Abbe Stevens, a public health major, received Alumni Association Future Alumni Leader Awards.

Jeff Rudski, Ph.D. professor of psychology, earned the Paul C. Empie ’29 Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award is given in memory of the Rev. Paul C. Empie, graduate of the Class of 1929, a member of the college’s board of trustees for many years, and its chair from 1972 to 1979.